Fluid-cooled package having shielding layer

Abstract

A package includes: at least one electronic chip; an encapsulant encapsulating at least part of the at least one electronic chip; a shielding layer on at least part of an external surface of the encapsulant; and a first heat removal body thermally coupled to the at least one electronic chip and configured for removing thermal energy from the at least one electronic chip to a cooling fluid. The encapsulant has a surface portion that extends in a surface region extending laterally directly adjacent to the first heat removal body. The surface portion of the encapsulant delimits part of a cooling cavity configured to guide the cooling fluid. The shielding layer covers the surface portion of the encapsulant. A corresponding electronic device, method of manufacturing the package, method of manufacturing the electronic device, vehicle, and method of using the electronic device are also described.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A package, comprising:
 at least one electronic chip; 
 an encapsulant encapsulating at least part of the at least one electronic chip; 
 a shielding layer on at least part of an external surface of the encapsulant; and 
 a first heat removal body thermally coupled to the at least one electronic chip and configured for removing thermal energy from the at least one electronic chip to a cooling fluid, 
 wherein the encapsulant has a surface portion that extends in a surface region extending laterally directly adjacent to the first heat removal body, 
 wherein the surface portion of the encapsulant delimits part of a cooling cavity configured to guide the cooling fluid, 
 wherein the shielding layer covers the surface portion of the encapsulant. 
 
     
     
       2. The package of  claim 1 , wherein a material of the shielding layer is configured to provide at least one property selected from the group consisting of:
 corrosion resistance; 
 impermeability for a liquid; 
 abrasion resistance; and 
 fissure bridging capability. 
 
     
     
       3. The package of  claim 1 , wherein the shielding layer comprises at least one of:
 parylene; 
 an electrically conductive polymer; 
 an inorganic dielectric material; and 
 a metallic material selected from the group consisting of titanium, nickel, aluminum, titanium-nickel, titanium-aluminum, and titanium-aluminum-nickel. 
 
     
     
       4. The package of  claim 1 , further comprising a second heat removal body thermally coupled to a second main surface of the at least one electronic chip or of at least one further electronic chip of the package and configured for removing thermal energy from the at least one electronic chip or from the at least one further electronic chip to the cooling fluid. 
     
     
       5. The package of  claim 4 , wherein at least a portion of a surface of at least one of the first heat removal body and the second heat removal body is covered by part of the shielding layer or by at least one further shielding layer. 
     
     
       6. The package of  claim 1 , further comprising a cooling fin body on the first heat removal body. 
     
     
       7. The package of  claim 6 , further comprising a shielding layer on at least part of an external surface of the cooling fin body. 
     
     
       8. The package of  claim 1 , wherein the encapsulant is covered by the shielding layer in a surface region directly adjacent to the first heat removal body. 
     
     
       9. An electronic device, comprising:
 the package of  claim 1 ; and 
 a cooling member configured for being mounted on the package to thereby delimit, together with the package, the cooling cavity for accommodating the cooling fluid for cooling the package. 
 
     
     
       10. The electronic device of  claim 9 , wherein the package comprises at least one heat removal body each thermally coupled to a respective main surface of at least one of the at least one electronic chip and configured for removing thermal energy from the respective at least one electronic chip to the cooling fluid, and wherein the cooling cavity is delimited, in particular exclusively, by the cooling member, by the shielding layer on the encapsulant and by the at least one heat removal body with or without the shielding layer thereon. 
     
     
       11. The electronic device of  claim 9 , wherein the surface portion of the encapsulant covered with the shielding layer is shaped to form a structural feature contributing to a cooling fluid related function. 
     
     
       12. The electronic device of  claim 11 , wherein the structural feature comprises a sealing groove for accommodating a sealing member for promoting fluid-tightness of the cooling cavity. 
     
     
       13. The electronic device of  claim 11 , wherein the structural feature comprises a cooling fluid guiding structure for guiding the cooling fluid along a defined flow path. 
     
     
       14. The electronic device of  claim 9 , wherein the cooling member comprises at least one of a cooling medium supply channel configured for supplying the cooling fluid to the cooling cavity, and a cooling medium drain channel configured for draining the cooling fluid from the cooling cavity. 
     
     
       15. A method of manufacturing a package, the method comprising:
 encapsulating at least part of at least one electronic chip by an encapsulant; 
 forming a shielding layer on at least part of an external surface of the encapsulant; and 
 forming a first heat removal body thermally coupled to the at least one electronic chip and configured for removing thermal energy from the at least one electronic chip to a cooling fluid, 
 wherein the encapsulant has a surface portion that extends in a surface region extending laterally directly adjacent to the first heat removal body, 
 wherein the surface portion of the encapsulant delimits part of a cooling cavity configured to guide the cooling fluid, 
 wherein forming the shielding layer on at least part of the external surface of the encapsulant comprises covering the surface portion of the encapsulant that delimits part of the cooling cavity with the shielding layer. 
 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 15 , wherein forming the shielding layer comprises at least one of:
 sputtering; 
 chemical deposition; 
 deposition by evaporation; 
 chemical vapor deposition; 
 melting by laser processing; 
 varnishing; and 
 plasma deposition. 
 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 15 , further comprising roughening the surface portion of the encapsulant, prior to covering the surface portion of the encapsulant that delimits part of the cooling cavity with the shielding layer. 
     
     
       18. A method of manufacturing an electronic device, the method comprising:
 providing the package of  claim 1 ; and 
 mounting a cooling member on the package to thereby delimit, together with the package, the cooling cavity. 
 
     
     
       19. A vehicle, comprising the package of  claim 1 . 
     
     
       20. A method of using the electronic device of  claim 11  for an automotive application, the method comprising using the electronic device as an inverter circuit for an at least partially electrically driven vehicle.